>> jimmy: thanks to terry bradshaw, howie long, ronny cheing, rashad jennings and brothers osborne. that was fun. apologies to matt damon. we ran out of time for him. nightline is next, thank you for watching, goodnight. this is "nightline." >> tonight, hostages released. two israeli women set free just hours ago. hamas video of the handover. what could this mean for the

others still held captive? and a family's plea. the parents of one missing young man say the clock is ticking on their son's injury. >> don't give up on these people until they are home safely. >> taking their fight to free him from home to the world stage. >> we really think of this as an international humanitarian catastrophe. and the hollywood stars tonight adding their voices for the hostages. plus, inside the buses. more than 50,000 migrants controversially shuttled out of texas to mostly democratic cities. now the rest of america is understanding exactly what is going on. >> tonight, an insider breaking his silence exclusively to abc news. >> they didn't care about their health. they didn't care about where they were going. most of the time they were lied to. >> the moment he says he went from being conservative on immigration, to being on the side of those asylum seekers. >> they were more american in that moment than i'd ever been

in my entire life. and lahaina homecoming. two and a half months after that deadly wildfire leveled their town, a little bit of normalcy returns to lahaina luna high school. >> "nightline" will be right back.

we handcraft every batch of our delicious popcorn. like our cretors cheese and caramel mix. great on their own, even better together. try cretors, handcrafted small-batch popcorn. good evening. thank you for joining us. tonight, as the border crisis

deepens, we go inside those controversial coach buses shuttling tens of thousands of migrants from texas to mostly liberal cities. in an abc news exclusive, an insider who is on those buses says asylum seekers were mistreated. here is abc's john quinones. >> when i got this job, i thought this was the greatest thing ever. >> why did you decide to talk to us? >> this job, from day one was not -- never meant to be done the right way. the job meant from day one was to get people on a bus and out of texas. that's it. they didn't care about their health. they didn't care about where they were going. most of the time they were lied to. >> buses running north and west out of texas. since april of last year, they've carried more than 50,000 migrants, mainly to democratic cities across the country. it's all part of governor greg abbott's operation lone star.

>> before we begin bussing illegal immigrants up to new york, it was just texas and arizona that bore the brunt of all of the chaos and all the problems that come with it. now the rest of america is understanding exactly what is going on. >> reporter: but an exclusive interview with abc news, david dillard says what's going on is incredibly troubling. as a security contractor on some of those buses, he said he could no longer live with what he witnessed, including migrants being misled about where they were being taken. >> they were just told, hey, where do you want to go? and they say miami, oh, there is a bus. we get on the bus, no, we're not going miami. i pull out the translator. we're not going to miami. we're going washington, d.c. >> reporter: the state emergency management agency told us migrants sign waivers like these agreeing to their destinations. but dillard says there was a disconnect. he began taking pictures of

passengers' paperwork pacts with destination cities written on them, sometimes states away from the route of the bus they were put on. >> i start asking questions, and the questions were not meshing at all with reality. at that point i remember texting a friend of mine saying hey, i'm only staying here because i want to make sure the migrants get treated right there. were migrants who were getting yelled at, told no, there were no stops being made. they cannot stop in texas. those migrants once they're on the bus, they're getting out of texas. >> hundreds of miles. >> yes, about seven or eight hours. and if you're going to l.a., eight hours. you have one bathroom, and the bathroom cannot have number two. it can only be number two. but you have women's tampons, babies' diapers, everything in that one bathroom. it will start overflowing and leaking down the thing. we'll tell them stop using that after that. >> reporter: urine going down the aisle? >> yes. have i pictures of it. it's disgusting and it's inhuman. >> reporter: it all began when the state of texas contracted a

bus called wynne for more than $100 million to transport the migrants north and out of the lone star state. in turn, wynne hired a security firm called mayhem solutions. that's when david dillard, an army veteran who served in afghanistan and iraq was i.r.a..ed to supervise security on those buses. >> we were making an incredible amount of money. i was getting paid $450 a day in the beginning. >> reporter: how many trips were you a part of? >> well over 100. >> reporter: head security man on all the buses. >> everything. i ran it all. >> reporter: what you told your job would be? >> get as many people on the bus and get the bus to the destination as possible. >> reporter: as many people as fast as possible? >> yet. >> reporter: migrants who crossed the border into texas were given the option to board these buses. representatives from nongovernmental organizations nobody as ngos were supposed to help process the passengers and coordinate with groups and

destinations to assist them when they arrive. the state of texas says it did not get involved in that coordination effort. >> i always let the ngos know how many we had and when we would be there. >> reporter: but suddenly in august of 2022, dillard says he and other staff members were issued new directions by mayhem solutions manager brian smith, an email provided by dillard shows smith directing contractors not the cooperate or speak with the ngos. the email goes on to say that the state of texas also will not be sharing information with organizations helping the migrants. and it instructs contractors to keep bus numbers and any identifying information hidden from sight, including from the passengers themselves. smith has not responded to our request for comment. >> our work phones had wifi, or a hot spot that we're supposed to let the migrants use. they cut that out because they found out the migrants were

using their phones to find out where they're at. so we cut the wifi off. >> reporter: in a statement, the texas division of emergency management told abc news it is not aware of any directive to remove wifi service on any bus or any effort to conceal the identifying bus numbers. dillard also recalls an especially alarming incident on september 14th 2022 when his bus was en route to drop off migrants in the nation's capital. >> we got a call in virginia that says we want you to wait back so this other bus can catch up to you. why? we want to drop off at the vp's house. i said why? he goes, well, apparently vp harris said something bad about abbott on her interview before, and he wants to stick it to her. he is going to drop these people off at her front door. but i'm almost there. this other bus, where is it? it's about ten hours. so we're going to have to sit in a parking lot until tomorrow morning at 6:00 a.m. so these people are sitting there until the other bus caught up. >> reporter: ten hours?

>> ten hours. and they're sitting there on the bus, bored out of their minds, kids screaming. abbott corrugated the whole thing to say fu to the vp. that's petty politics with people's lives. it's inhuman, man. >> buses filled with migrants from our southern border have just arrived outside vice president kamala harris' residence. >> reporter: and there is dillard in news footage in front of vice president kamala harris' home with a bus load of migrants. >> like how in the world does fox news show up? they don't know where we're dropping off, especially the vp's house. this is getting ridiculous. this is getting to where you call somebody a name, and it alters people's lives. and that's when i knew abbott had direct knowledge. >> reporter: governor greg abbott tweeting that same day, "we're sending migrants to her backyard to call on the biden administration to do its job and secure the border." governor abbott's office told us

they are not aware of directives to either stop communicating with ngos or coordinating the drop at the vice president's home. the bussing has continued, with border crossings now on track to exceed last year's numbers. the new wave of arrivals largely from venezuela, often a treacherous, months' long journey. in august of this year, 3-year-old barbosa gonzalez died on one of wynne transportation buses. there has been no allegation of wrongdoing in connection with her death. a coroner determined the girl suffered from pneumonia, and an intestinal infection, and a temperature check on her during processing had detected a low-grade fever. >> nobody should have died on these buses. they're not coming on in the best of health. but when they get on, their health shouldn't get bad, worse. >> reporter: do you regret having been a part of this?

>> none, not one bit. i can guarantee that i helped make these bus rides better for the people. the kids, especially. i bought papa john's pizzas for the buses all the time. there is a reason why there is no deaths on my watch. i made sure there wasn't. i took care of them. so i'd do it again. >> reporter: david dillard says he once considered himself a staunch conservative and a big supporter of governor abbott's tough stand on immigration. but he says all that changed when he took his first bus load of migrants to washington, d.c. >> we went around a corner, and the white house was on the left. and i said hey, there is the white house. and then we went down, there is the washington monument right there. and they started clapping, cheering, crying. people were hugging. and from a u.s. soldier's standpoint, that's why i do this, that right there. they were more american in that moment than i had ever been in my entire life. and that was the greatest feeling in the world. >> reporter: david dillard, who says he was simply trying to treat migrants as human beings

was term nated after a pay dispute with a supervisor. this husband and father says today he's having trouble getting work as a result. if somebody were to say he is a disgruntled employee, what would you say? >> not at all. i am a disgruntled in the fact how people were treated, humans were treated on my watch. if i lose everything, i don't care. i'm still going to stand on the fact that what happened to these migrants and what was done out of pure political pettiness is wrong. they're great people. you hear their stories of how they come and stuff like that, and it's just amazing. these people deserve not to be pawns. >> byron: our thanks to john. when we come back, two more hostages released by hamas, and the steadfast determination of the parents of hersh goldbergolin to bring their boy home. when i was diagnosed with h-i-v, i didn't know who i would be. but here i am... being me. keep being you... and ask your healthcare provider about the number one

prescribed h-i-v treatment, biktarvy. biktarvy is a complete, one-pill, once-a-day treatment used for h-i-v in many people whether you're 18 or 80. with one small pill, biktarvy fights h-i-v to help you get to undetectable—and stay there whether you're just starting or replacing your current treatment. research shows that taking h-i-v treatment as prescribed and getting to and staying undetectable prevents transmitting h-i-v through sex. serious side effects can occur, including kidney problems and kidney failure. rare, life-threatening side effects include a buildup of lactic acid and liver problems. do not take biktarvy if you take dofetilide or rifampin. tell your healthcare provider about all the medicines and supplements you take, if you are pregnant or breastfeeding, or if you have kidney or liver problems, including hepatitis. if you have hepatitis b do not stop taking biktarvy without talking to your healthcare provider. common side effects were diarrhea, nausea, and headache. no matter where life takes you, biktarvy can go with you. talk to your healthcare provider today. ( ♪ ) nissan has a car for everyone. (engine revving)

every driver who wants more. more turbo. ( ♪ ) more freedom. ( ♪ ) more electric. ( ♪ ) (engine revving) at nissan, more is all we do. ( ♪ ) ♪ (nissan mnemonic) ♪ - serving in afghanistan, i was hit by sniper fire and i was given a 5% chance to live. it's a good thing math wasn't my best subject. today, i visit classrooms and share my story. i tell kids that with a little help and a lot of work, you can overcome any challenge. - [narrator] dav helps veterans like adam get the benefits they've earned. they help more than a million veterans every year. - my victory is being there for the next generation. - [narrator] support more victories for veterans. go to dav.org.

is it possible my network could take my business to the next level? it is with comcast business. powering all your devices with gig-speed wifi. and you get fast downloads and uploads. pick it up! pick it up! oh we got this! because it's powered by the next generation 10g network. more speed for your business? it's not just possible. it's happening. get started for $59.99 a month for 12 months.

plus, ask how to get an $800 prepaid card with a qualifying internet bundle. comcast business, powering possibilities. ( ♪ ♪ ) welcome to big tobacco's fantasyland. a new, healthier world without cigarettes. as long as you don't count the 6 trillion sold worldwide every year. and vaping won't lead to smoking, if you ignore the research that says otherwise. in big tobacco's fantasyland, the deadliest industry is your friend. shh...

>> byron: tonight, a small sign of hope. israel confirming the release of two hostages. in a video from hamas, nur and yocheved lifshitz walked by armed militants and handed over to red cross workers. tonight in the u.s., several hundred hollywood stars adding their names to an open letter to president biden asking him to keep his focus on the more than 220 hostages still being held. those families with only hope the hold on to. earlier tonight, i spoke with john polin and rachel goldberg whose son hersh was presumed abducted by hamas at that music

festival in israel. they arrived late today from jerusalem. tomorrow they will appeal to the u.n. to help bring the hostages home, hoping their son may be among them. john and rachel, thank you so much for joining us. you've just flown in from israel. we're so grateful to have you on "nightline." first, about the news today, that two more hostages were released. your reaction to that. >> well, i was with every hostage that is released, we are thrilled for their families. that's -- and we're thrilled actually for the actual hostages. but since we know what the families have been going through, it's been like a whisper of relief and of course hope that more hostages will be released. >> i know in these situations oftentimes hope, as wonderful as it, can be a dangerous and painful thing. how do you balance that hope with how you all are approaching

this awful place you find yourself in? >> we acknowledge that on saturday, october 7th, the possibility exists that after our son was kidnapped at roughly 9:00 in the morning that a minute later, he may have been dumped on the side of the road and may not be with us anymore. but we don't know that. our mission is to bring him home and bring him home alive well, and hope is what keeps us going. >> byron: what's the latest? what do you know about hersh's situation at this moment? >> so unfortunately, we only know what witnesses had told us, which is that he, after this attack on the bomb shelter, that he and these other 29 kids from the music festival were hiding in, that he was told by gunpoint

to stand up. the witnesses told us that his arm had been blown off from the elbow down, and he was ordered on to a truck that was then headed off toward gaza. however, the development that is new is that another news anchor interviewed us and then afterwards called us, not on air, and said "i think i have a video of your son." and he sent it to us, and it was hersh. so we now actually see the kidnapping, and we see the stump where his arm was, and so that's much more real of understanding what happened to him. >> when we were told by the israeli authorities that he was being officially listed as kidnapped, it was a sense of relief, right?

it's a weird sense of relief to have your son kidnapped by hamas, taken into gaza, but we had that. and when it comes to the video, i watched the video first once or twice, and then i kept on watching it. i take some strength from it. the fact that hersh walks on his own feet under his own power, and then with his one arm that he has left, pulls himself on to a truck, and he is bloody, but he looks to me to be reasonably composed and reasonably strong. and all of this is on the heels of what we now know that for the hour and a half prior to that happening to him, being kidnapped, he was in carnage, grenades and gunfire. so he is in trauma. but i take strength from seeing his composure. >> byron: you all from chicago have this wonderful network of friends in israel who rallied around you in this point. but you left the comfort of that network to fly to the united states, to appear before the

u.n. why? >> well, first of all, we really think of this as an international humanitarian catastrophe. there are over 30 countries represented in the hostages who are being held. so this isn't a specifi know, two-country issue. and to us, the fact that nobody has proof of life, nobody has any word of medical attention being given because we've heard from international humanitarian groups and organizations that they don't have access. so we feel that the united nations is the right address to say how can we get these people, who more than 100 of them are from all over the world, the care that they need or, you

know, even proof of life. >> what do you want the nation to know? what's next for you two in this awful journey you find yourselves in? >> right now this hostage issue is kind of in the news. but in a day or two or a week, something is going to overtake it. and my message is don't forget these people. don't give up on these people until they are home safely. >> byron: well, i know at "nightline," we will not forget. we're grateful to you both. stay strong, and we will stay in touch. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> byron: all right. we'll be right back. my a1c was up here; now, it's down with rybelsus®. his a1c? it's down with rybelsus®.

my doctor told me rybelsus® lowered a1c better than a leading branded pill and that people taking rybelsus® lost more weight. i got to my a1c goal and lost some weight too. rybelsus® isn't for people with type 1 diabetes. don't take rybelsus® if you or your family ever had medullary thyroid cancer, or have multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2, or if allergic to it. stop rybelsus® and get medical help right away if you get a lump or swelling in your neck, severe stomach pain, or an allergic reaction. serious side effects may include pancreatitis. gallbladder problems may occur. tell your provider about vision problems or changes. taking rybelsus® with a sulfonylurea or insulin increases low blood sugar risk. side effects like nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea may lead to dehydration, which may worsen kidney problems. need to get your a1c down? you may pay as little as $10 per prescription. my most important kitchen tool? my brain. so i choose new neuriva ultra. unlike some others, it supports 7 brain health indicators, including mental alertness from one serving.

to help keep me sharp. try new neuriva ultra. think bigger. discover the ozempic® tri-zone. ♪ ♪ i got the power of 3. i lowered my a1c, cv risk, and lost some weight. in studies, the majority of people reached an a1c under 7 and maintained it. i'm under 7. ozempic® lowers the risk of major cardiovascular events such as stroke, heart attack, or death in adults also with known heart disease. i'm lowering my risk. adults lost up to 14 pounds. i lost some weight. ozempic® isn't for people with type 1 diabetes. don't share needles or pens, or reuse needles.

don't take ozempic® if you or your family ever had medullary thyroid cancer, or have multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2, or if allergic to it. stop ozempic® and get medical help right away if you get a lump or swelling in your neck, severe stomach pain, or an allergic reaction. serious side effects may include pancreatitis. gallbladder problems may occur. tell your provider about vision problems or changes. taking ozempic® with a sulfonylurea or insulin may increase low blood sugar risk. side effects like nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea may lead to dehydration, which may worsen kidney problems. living with type 2 diabetes? ask about the power of 3 with ozempic®. why didn't we do this last year? before you were preventing migraine with qulipta®? and look at me now. you'll never truly forget migraine, but zero-migraine days are possible. don't take if allergic to qulipta®. most common side effects are nausea, constipation, and sleepiness. qulipta®. the forget-you-get migraine medicine™. hey... it's me! your dry skin! i'm craving something we're missing. the ceramides in cerave. cerave, with three essential ceramides, helps restore my natural barrier, so i can lock in moisture and we can feel it long after. cerave moisturizers.

as the world keeps changing, so does covid-19. that's why this season's covid-19 shots have been updated. they're one of the best ways to help protect yourself against covid-19. learn more and schedule at vaccines.gov

>> byron: finally tonight, a homecoming for lahaina. players, cheerleaders, students, teachers, and parents gathering at lahaina luna high school's victorious big game. just ten weeks ago, so much of their community consumed by the deadly wildfire. to lahaina's homecoming was a symbolic step toward recovery, selling out 3,000 tickets in seven minutes. hope is a